Sunday, May 29, 2011

Dog shot, tied up and buried alive

The discovery of a dog that was buried alive up to its nose after being shot in the head 40 times has led to calls for Malta to reform its animal welfare laws.

The crossbreed mongrel, which was named Star by his rescuers, was found near the city of Birzebbuga by animal welfare officers investigating an unrelated case.

After hearing whimpering coming from beneath a wooden board with a tree stump placed on top of it to weigh it down, officers were confronted with the distressing sight of a dog's face buried in the dirt.

But worse was to follow. When Star was dug out of the ground they discovered all four limbs had all been tied together and that she had been repeatedly shot with a pellet gun.

Miraculously, after doctors removed 40 pellets from her skull during emergency surgery at the Ta' Qali hospital, Star survived.

The case has caused outrage in Malta where, regardless of the nature of the act, the maximum sentence one can face for animal cruelty is a one-year jail sentence, or a maximum fine of 46,500 Euros.

A pending change in legislation will raise the maximum fine to 50,000 Euros but the one-year jail maximum will remain.

Animal lovers are holding a silent protest in Valetta next week to express their disgust.

With the abuser still at large, people have expressed their support with dedicated Facebook pages, the largest of which has 7,000 followers.